Land of contrasts and surprises

In Turkmenistan, where its capital bursts with outlandish monuments, rules do not always add up

- Jaclynn Seah

The entrance to Ashgabat International Airport is impressive even at 3am as I drag my bags past its doors, swooping white curves like a giant falcon descending in front of me.

But as I lift my mobile phone to snap a shot, my tour guide cautions me against it, giving a vague reason about it not being allowed.

This is a consistent theme throughout my five days exploring Turkmenistan in March 2025 encounters with strangely majestic architecture and navigating the opaque rules of this autocratic regime.

Turkmenistan is not a typical destination for most travellers. Before this visit, I knew little about this enigmatic Central Asian region only that it emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and remains one of the least-visited countries in the world.

Strict visa rules make entry notoriously difficult. Obtaining the required Letter of Invitation (LOI) can take weeks or longer, and applications, which must be handled exclusively through designated tour agencies, are sometimes denied without explanation.

In April 2025, Turkmenistan announced its intent to shift to e-visas to ease this process and attract more tourists, though no followup announcements have been made as to when it might happen.

Thankfully, my group's application process was without incident and took about two weeks to clear through our tour agency Travel Notoria. And now, we are finally in Turkmenistan, ready to explore.

For international visitors, the capital city of Ashgabat is the main entry point to Turkmenistan, and it is designed to impress. Nicknamed the "White City", Ashgabat feels like a life-size showroom of marble architecture.

It is no surprise that the city holds a Guinness World Record for having the highest density of white marble-clad structures 543 in 2013, and likely even more today.